High chair and tie for reenforcing rods



May 20, 1947. B. F. BURNER HIGH CHAIR AND TIE FOR REENFORCING RODS Filed Nbv. 13, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVE NTOR B. E Burner- ATTORNEY I y 20, 1947- E. F. BURNER 2,420,860

HIGH CHAIR AND TIE FOR R EENFORCING RODS Filed Nov. 15, 1945 4 h tsheet 2 INVENTOR B. E Burner ATTORNEY May 20, 1947.;

HIGH CHAIR AND TIE FOR REENFORCING RODS B. F. BURNER 2,420,860 7 Filed Nov. 15, 1945 4 She ts-She t 5 FIG; 2 H

' INVENTOR B. F. Burner ATTORNEY May 20, 1947.

F. BURNER 2,420,860

HIGH CHAIR AND TIE FOR REENFORCING RODS Filed Nov. 13,1945 4 Sheets-SheetA v I INv ENTO R Burner ATTORNEY of reenforcing rods,

Patented May 20, 1947 2,420,860 HIGH CHAIR AND TIE FOR REENFORCING Bingham F. Burner, Arlington, Va. Application November 13, 1945, Serial No. 628,026

16 Claims.

This invention relates generally to the class of masonry and concrete construction and the pres- 'ent invention is directed particularly to improvements in that type of reenforcing rod supporting chair known as a high chair.

A principal object of the present invention is to providea high chair support for concrete reenforcing, rods wherein co-acting and relatively movable elements are provided for clamping a pair of crossed rods firmly in working position, with novel means for stiffening or imparting rigidity to the legs of the chair whereby a relatively light material may be employed without sacrificing needed strength.

Another object of the invention is to provide a re'enfo-rcing rod supporting chair having a novel means in the form of a pair of relatively movable co-acting hanger elements, for supporting and securing firmly in crossed working relation a pair wherein such cooperating elements are designed in a novel manner to automatically maintain a desired centering relation one with respect to the other so that no difiiculty will be experienced in setting the rods in working position.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a novel chair support and clamping means crossed concrete reenforcing rods, wherein a pair of relatively movable cooperating hanger elements are provided for securing the rods in the stated crossed relation, which have a rela- Still another object of the invention is to provide a high chair type reenforcing rod support with means for gauging a number of the chairs together in one unit and for, at the same time, shortening the efiective flexibility of the legs of the chairs whereby an efiective and useful gripping action upon the supported rods may be obtained without the necessity of using unnecessarily heavy material.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the description of the same proceeds and the invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification, with the understanding, however, that the invention is not confined toa strict conformity with the showing of the drawings but may be changed or modifiedso long as such changes or modifications mark no matiallyon the line terial departure from the salient features of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a high chair and rod tie constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is an edge View of the structure shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view in top plan of the structure as illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a view in top plan of the upper part of the chair showing the positions of the knees before the rods are inserted.

Figure 5 is a view in side elevation of a modified construction in which the reenforcing tie rod forms the sole connection between the sides of the legs. a

Figure 6 is a view of the structure shown in Figure 5, looking at the same in a direction at right angles to the side shown in Figure 5.

Figure 7 illustrates a method of ganging the chairs by means of a connecting rod.

Figure 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Figure 7.

Figure 9 is a view illustrating another method of connecting a reenforcing rod with the lower end portion of a leg.

Figure 10 is an edge view of the structure of Figure 9 Figure 11 illustrates another method or forming the bridging connection between the sides of the leg.

Figure 12 is a section on the line I 2-l 2 of Figure 11.

Figure 13 illustrates still another method of forming-the connection between the lower ends of the sides of a leg.

Figure 14 is a section on the line l4--|4 of Figure 13.

Figure 15 illustrates in side elevation a further embodiment of the invention in which the chair is formed initially in two parts adapted to be assembled and welded together.

Figure 16 is a horizontal section taken substan- I 6I6 of Figure 15.

Figure 17 is a view in perspective of one of the two portions of the chair illustrated in Figure 15.

Figure 18 is a view in side elevation of another embodiment in which the two chair portions are joined together by a coil spring.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings it will be seen that the chair tie device as illustrated is formed of a single length or piece of material, preferably low grade spring steel wire and while it is preferred to form the device in this manner it is to be understood, nevertheless, that the invention is not limited to this specific manner of forming the chair and that a chair formed of several individual pieces welded or otherwise joined together would fall within the scope of the present invention.

Furthermore, it is to be understood that the size of the wire material used, the degree of spring clamping action and the size of the loops and length of the legs of the formed chair, would be governed by the particular type of concrete construction in which the chairs are used and the size of the bars or rods whichthe chair must support. One feature, however, of the present invention has to do with the reenforcing or stiffening of the legs of the chair when the same is constructed to function as ahigh: chair, in which case, it will be understood that the, legs will be of substantial length so as to support the rods at the necessary elevations for which high types of chairs, are required.

As shown the chair comprises two side portions each of which is generally designated It and may be referred, to as a leg; Each of the legs comprises a relatively long side barormember H and an intervening yoke l2, connecting or'joining the side bars together at their lower ends.

The yoke 12 as illustrated in Figures 1 to 3; comprises a transverse portion l3 which is elevated a substantial distance above the lower ends of the bars H and which merges at each end with the" down-turned portion I4 which lies against or closely adjacent to the innerside of a side bar or-portion ll, merging with the latter at its lower end as illustrated.

Preferably, though not necessarily; the side bars ll of each leglean together or are convergent at, their top ends as shown in Figure 1 and the two legs also incline together orare convergent at their-upper ends as shown in Figure 2, which arrangement, together with the convergent tendency of the two side bars H of eachleg, has the effect of causing the hereinafter described rod supporting and gripping portions of the chair to press more firmly together under the Weight of the rods or with the application of increasing weight to the rods;

Theupper ends of the sideportions or bars of the two legs together define a hollow quadrangle or, moreaccurately, the corners ofsuch a figure.

As will be seen upon reierence to Figure 3 where the chair is shown in top plan, two adjacent side bars ll of the two legs come closer together at their upper ends than do thecorrespondingadjacent side bar-s H so that suchupper ends may work in between'theupper ends of the opposite bars as willbe hereinafter more-fully described.

The more closely positioned bars of the two legs-are bent to-extenddownwardly and inwardly toward the center of the structure at H" and from these bends thereextend the-short inwardly directed portions I5 which, in addition to' ex tending downwardly toward the center or thechair, are slightly convergent as shown.

At their lower ends, the portions H" merge withtheslightly reversely bent portions formingrod contacting or engaging knees I6 and each of these knees merges into the upper end of a side member or leg H of" the-rod-receivi'ng saddle loop which is generally designated I8; Thelower ends of these side portions ll of this saddle loop are connected by the substantially semicircular bottompart or yoke I9.

The two leg bars ll opposite from the saddle loop [8 are bent downwardly and inwardly at their upper ends as indicated at H" and they then extend into the short downwardly and inwardly extending portions [5 which are slightly convergent and which are reversely bent at their lower ends to form the reenforcing rod engaging knees l6 whichco-act with theknees l6. These knee portions lead'into or are joined to the upper ends of the legs H of a saddle yoke l8 which is a, substantial duplicate of the yoke i8 and which has the lower ends of the legs ll joined by the substantially semi-circular loop l9.

As will be readily seen upon reference to Figure 1- each of the saddle loops is of substantial length and while being suspended from the inwardly' and" downwardly extending portions l5-l.5, which form continuations of the leg side bars H, they also are disposed in downwardly divergent relation.

The knees l6 at the upper end of the. saddle loop l8 are so spaced that the over-all width of the loop at the upper end is not greater than the inside width of the upper endof the loop i8 between the knees' 16-. Thus when the upper'ends of the saddle loops come together the narrower one will center'in the upper end of the wider one as shown in-Figure 4. Thus-the upper ends'of the two parts of the chair will always be in such a position with respect one to the other that a red when laid in place to be forced down betweenvthe knees as illustrated in Figure I, after. the first or lower rod has been positioned, can be readily inserted merely by applying down pressure thereto.

In the construction of high chairs according to the present invention, unless relatively heavy material is'used, the bars ll of the legs tend to have too great flexibility as previously pointed out. This flexibility maybe controlled without the necessity of having to use extra heavy material, by meansof the brace yoke [2 between the leg bars or a, tie rod 20 may be disposed across the outer'sides of the-bars l'l ofeach of the legs. and welded to the bars in the manner illustrated. Such rod 20-may'be* of short length or it may be of substantial length and employed for joining or connecting together a; number of' the chairs to provide a set gang. Aswill be readily apparent the height at which the rod' 20 is placed against.

the legs lfiwill determine the degree of flexibility and relative movement which can be obtained between the cooperating knee Iii-l6 of the suspension loops. In the construction here illustrated the rod- 20' is shown as being disposed at an elevation just abovethe-top of the part It of the bracing yoke and ii" the yoke portion I2 is set substantially verticallyinsteadof in an inclined plane parallel with the bars H" of the leg, the connecting bar 20 may be placed directly upon the'top of the yoke as will be readily apparent.

Another method of stiffening the brace between the two bars H of a leg is illustrated in Figure 1r where atransverse or-connecting portion. l3" of the yoke has the opposite side faces flattened asindicate'd at 21. These'flattened'side faces: are disposed vertically and thus any tendency of the part I3. to bend. up or down will be more greatly resisted thanif therodisleftcircuzlar as in the arrangement shown: in Figure: 1..

In the case of a low chair provision may be made; for decreasing the resistance to up or down bending, of the. connecting parts between the lower ends of the leg bars so that by bringing E pered to conform lad-the inclination of: thebars.

the-bar: members. of. the legs; are; disposedat' the. proper inclination against the. outer. side of. the. ring, the: members are.- welded to the ring. as indicated at 3 9. Thishook-up or connection: between. the. leg members. by means of the coiled. wire. ring allows. for. relative: movement between. the legmembers. thereby allowing the saddle loops to be. moved; apart as. necessary for the. insertiom of a. rod therebetween and at the same. timesufiicientzrigidity is given to.-the leg member to; allow; for. the. construction of such. members from. materal: of. lighter construction: than wouldbe possible if the leg members were connected together at. their: bottom ends or at the surface of. the; form. on whichthe. chair: is stood.

I claim:

1". A chairstieior supporting. crossed rods, comprising; a pair, of. leg units:each.having upstanding; side: portions spaced apart. attheir: upper ends for: the passage of. arodtherebetween, arpairof saddle loop members. suspended between the. upper ends of. adjacent. side. portions. of the leg. members, eaclr saddle: loop member having an open. upper: end for the. reception. of. a rod, and. one loop member'having its. open end of. greater width; than the open endof the otherloop member' whereby the open endiof the said one. loop memberv receives. the open. end of the other loop member.

2.. Arod chair. tie. for supporting crossed rods, comprising; a: pair of. leg: units eachhaving upstanding sidei portions: convergently disposed toward theupper: ends butspaced for the passage of arodtherebetween, a pairlof saddle loop members: each: suspended. between theuppcr ends of two adjacent leg side portions, each saddle loop member. having a depth at least as great as the sum of the diameters of' two rods and; each loop member being. open. at: its top for: the reception of a rod, the. loop: members being. formed to provide co-acting opposing. knees: adapted: to engage opposite sides of; the top oneiof the crossed rods; and. the knees. of one loop member being. arranged to. enter. between the knees of the. other loop member.

*3; A chair for: supporting: at least. two crossed rods, comprising a. pair of suspension members each havingthe' formof: a loop open atone end and having-a length at least: as great asthe sum of the diameters ofi'the-two:rods, means forsupporting. said. loops in adjaeentspacedi relation to receive and support. a rod between: them, said means being of a3 yieldable characte whereby the opposite sides of? the open. ends; of thesuspension members mayhave. relative. movement and the. open end of one suspension member-may have movement relative tothe other member; a knee-like grippingmeans at; the open end of each member cooperating with the gripping: means of the other member by; av relative movement" of the members to bear upon the'top: of a. rod disposed across.- the first rod; and tlieopen end; of'on'e' loop member having. a. width sufli'cient toreceive the open. end of the other loop memberwhen the said ends ofthe members are movedztogether.

4.. A chair. support for crossed concrete reenforcing. rods; comprising apair-of leg unit each having upstanding side portions convergently related and spaced apart at. their. upper: ends for the passage. of. a. rod therebetween each of. said leg side portions. merging. with a. short inwardlyand downwardly directed member, a pair of relatively. long. substantially- U-shaped saddle loop members. each disposed between. adjacent. side portions of; the two. leg units. and: each merging onesaddle loop member are urged: toward the knees of. the adjacent saddle loop member, and theknees. of one saddle loop. member being: spaced,

apart sufficiently to. receive the knees of the. adjacent saddle loopimember therebetweem 5. AzIOd chair. tie for supporting crossed concrete reenforcing rods, as stated in. claim 4, where'- in the said leg units are in upwardly converging relation and wherein the said saddle loop members. are disposed in downwardly diverging. relation.

6; A-rod chair tie tor supporting crossed concrete reenforcing rods, as stated inclaim.4=,. with a rod disposed transversely of each leg unit; and connected with the stated. upstanding sid portionsthereof at an elevation asubstantiar height above the'bottom of the unit and. functioning to restrict the flexibility.- of the said side portions to the. part thereof between such bar and the top endsofthe portions.

7.. Ina rod chair tie for supporting crossed concretereenforcin rods, a pair of leg units each comprising twoupstanding, upwardly converg ing side portions, means supported between. the side portions of one unit and the corresponding side portions of the adjacent unit for the support of crossed reenforcing rods, said leg; side portionsmerging. at. their lower ends with a transversely extending intermediate connecting portion functioning to maintain said leg side portions. in spaced relation, and said connecting portion being formed to have a greater dimensionin. one direction than. in. the other whereby to stiffen such portion against bending in one direction.

81. A supporting. chair. for concrete reenforcing rods, comprising. four leg members arranged in upwardly convergent relation, a. pair of. rod receiving hanger loopseach forming an. integral.

continuation of the upper ends of two leg members and hangingbetweensuch. members in. opposed relation to receive and support a. rod, the upper ends of the sides. of each loop being bent toward the corresponding sides of the opposed. loop to form rod gripping. knees, the knees of. each being spaced apart to permit a. rod. to

be passed therebetween. and the knees of one.

loop being sufiiciently spaced. to receive. between them. the spaced. knees of" the opposing, loop, said.

loops being of a depth greater than the combined diameters of two crossed rods whereby the op posed knees of the loops will bear upon the. top one of two crossed rods above the center. of. the top red when such rods are. arranged. with the lower" one lying'within the loops and the top one lying between the. loops, and a connecting, means between the leg members beneaththe loops.

9; A supporting chair for concrete reenforcing rods as set forth in claim 8, in which the said. connecting meansbetween the. leg members comprises an annular member lying in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the chair and within the area defined by the: leg members.

I0; A supporting; chair for concrete reenforcing rods as set forth in claim 8,. in whi'chthe said connecting, means. comprises archedbracing. arms extending. crossed. relation. between. diagonally spaced. legmembers, said arms crossing and being the lower ends of the bars closer together or moving them farther apart slight adjustments may be made in the height of the rod to be supported by the chair.

Figure 13 illustrates the lower portion of one leg of a low chair, wherein the'leg is generally designated 22 and the side bars 23 of which are shown connected by the bottom cross connecting yoke 24 which is initiall slightly upwardly bowed. This yoke portion 24 is flattened upon its top and under surfaces so that its width exceeds its vertical thickness and thus it will be readily apparent that the yoke can be more easily bent upwardly or downwardly to alter the distance between the lower ends of the leg bars 23.

In the arrangement shown in Figures 9 and 10 the lower ends of the side bars of the leg are shown as joined with the ends of an upwardly arched yoke which is generally designated 25. In this arrangement the yoke 25, which is substantially U-shaped, has the top part set out from the plane of the leg side bars 26 and the brace rod 21 which is disposed across the bars 26 of the le and welded thereto, rests upon the top of the yoke at its center and may be welded thereto as i1- lustrated, thus giving a three-point connection and substantially adding to the rigidity of the structure. This rod 21 as in the case of the rod 20, ma be a short piece of material functioning only as a connection between the side bars of the leg or it may be a long piece of material functioning to connect together a number of the chairs in a gang.

Still another modification of the stiffening rod feature of the invention is illustrated in Figure where the side bars 28 of the legs are not joined by an integral portion between their lower ends as in the arrangement shown in Figures 1 to 3 but are connected together solely by the coupling rod 29, while a still further modification combining the features of joining the chairs together in a gang and also providing for the stiffening of the bars of the legs, is shown in Figure 7 where a single rod only, designated 30, may be employed, running beneath the saddle loops l8l8 and joined to one thereof in the manner illustrated in my copending application, Serial No. 573,200. With this arrangement only a single rod is required for connecting the chairs together in a gang and the desired stiffening action may be given to the bars of the legs by means of the yoke structure 3|, corresponding to the structure illustrated in Figure 1 and designated [2.

From the foregoing it is believed that the manner of using the present chair structure will be readily apparent. It will also be readily apparent that by reason of the interconnecting action of the upper ends of the saddle loops, a wide range of movement between the loops may be obtained so that rods of all sizes may be used in a chair of standard dimensions.

In using the chair structure, after the same has been set up in the desired position, the lower rod, here designated 32, is set into position to rest in the lower ends of the saddle loops, extending between the loops and positioning between the legs Ill. The top rod 33 is then placed in position upon the inwardly sloping portions l5|5 and, by the application of the necessary down pressure, forced down between the knees Iii-I6, the sloping portions upon which it bears, functioning as cams so as to spring the upper ends of the co-acting bars ll of the legs apart. The length of the saddle loops is such that the top rod can pass down between the knees of the opposing loops until such knees are at a substantial elevation above the axial center of the rod. Thus it will be seen that the knees will tend to move together along the rounded portion of the rod above the plane of its longitudinal center and thus create a down pressure so as to press the rod firmly down upon the lower rod 32. In this manner the rods are securely or firmly locked together and it will be readily apparent that any additional pressure applied to the top rod. as, for example, by some one stepping upon the rod, will only tend to make the gripping action of the chair more positive.

Figures 15 to 17 designate two other methods of coupling together and stiffening or reenforcing the legs of chairs.

In the forms of the invention shown in Figures 1 to 4 the chair structure is illustrated as being formed or bent from a single piece of wire material. In this construction after the single piece of wire has been properly shaped the ends thereof are welded together. This method of forming the chair, while entirely feasible, requires somewhat mcre complicated mechanism than is required to construct a chair according to either of the two designs shown in Figures 15 to 17.

Figure 15 shows a chair construction in which the two legs are separately formed and are then welded together at the center of the chair. In this form each of the legs is designated 3i and comprises the two side portions 32, each of which corresponds with a side bar or member I I of the structure shown in Figure 1. However, in this design the suspension yoke here generally designated I8" is carried between the upper ends of the bar members 32.

Extending upwardly and inwardly from the lower end of each side portion or bar member 32 is the arched brace arm 33 and these brace arms are in crossed relation as shown.

In setting up a chair with the two leg structures 3|, the leg portions of the yokes H3" are brought into opposing relation and the terminal portions of the two arched brace arms 33 of one leg are placed in side by side relation with the corresponding arms of the opposing leg as shown in Figure 16. While being held in this assembled relation the crossed arms of the two legs are welded together at the points 34 or otherwise as may be found most suitable.

With this method of coupling the two leg parts together it is possible to assemble them easily and quickly in exactly the right relation and weld the arched arms together while holding them at the crossing points in a suitable gripping tool. After the arched arms have been welded together it will be seen that the legs will be rigidly braced diagonally across the chair as well as being held against any extreme movement together or apart.

In Figure 18 the chair structure has the two leg portions each of which is generally designated 35, in which the side bars or side members 35 have their lower ends turned outwardly to form the supporting feet 31. In this form of the invention also each leg member supports the rod receiving yoke |8" between the side members 36.

In the design employing the leg units 35 the joining together of two legs is accomplished by the use of a coiled wire ring generally designated 38.

As shown the coiled wire ring is placed within the four leg members or bars and is suitably tasecured together at the axial center of the chair.

' means being joined with the legs between which it is positioned, at the lower ends of the legs.

13. In a concrete reenforcing rod supporting chair including four leg members and a pair of rod supporting loops suspended therebetween, reenforcing connecting means between said leg members comprising an arcuate arm joined to each leg member and extending upwardly and inwardly therefrom toward the central part of the chair, the said arcuate arms being crossed and rigidly joined together beneath the supporting loops at approximately the axial center of the chair.

14. In a concrete reenforcing rod supporting chair including four leg members and a pair of rod supporting loops suspended therebetween, reenforcing connecting means between said leg members comprising an annulus disposed in the area defined by the leg members and in a plane substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the chair, the annulus contacting each of the leg members and being rigidly coupled thereto.

15. In a concrete reenforcing rod supporting chair including four leg members and a pair of rod supporting loops suspended therebetween, reenforcing means between said leg members comprising an annular member lying in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the chair and within the area defined by the leg members, and secured to the leg members.

16. In a concrete reenforcing rod supporting chair including two pairs of leg members and a pair of rod supporting loops disposed in adjacent cooperative relation and each suspended by a pair of leg members, reenforcing connecting means between the pairs of leg members comprising a substantially rigid member disposed in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the chair and contacting a leg of each pair and rigidly secured thereto.

BINGHAM F. BURNER.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Havemeyer Mar. 4, 1919 Number 

